Flush valve



Sept. 17, 1935..

E. PRICE El AL FLUSH VALVE Filed May 27, 1932 INVENTORSV P2 ICE L L IAN fl. PF/STEB u-Q ATTORNEYS.

lEM/L BY W1 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITED STAT FLUSH VALVE Emil Price and William A. Pfister, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application May 27, 1932, Serial No. 614,022

1 Claim.

This invention relates to flush valves, sometimes referred to in the art as ball cocks, the same adapted for use in connect on with the fill- 3 ing tanks of closet bowls and the like, and an object of the invention is to provide a novel valve organization for admitting water to the tank in a manner that will greatly reduce if not entirely eliminate, the noise which usually attends the process of replenishing the tank with water from the intake pipe of a supply system, as is necessary following the discharge of water from the tank in the flushing operation.

An important feature of the invention resides in the novel combination of partsemployed in the organization, the simplicity thereof and their functional characteristics, all of which contribute to make the device noiseless, positively acting and of such construction that it will withstand the abuse to which such mechanisms are usually subjected.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a view of the invention partly in vertical section and partly in elevation;

FigureZ is a section taken approximately on 25 line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the valve guide or thimble;

Figure 4 is a sectional view through a portion of the plunger showing the elastic valve disk 3 closed against its co-acting seat.

In carrying the invention into practice, use is made of a chamber member 5 having a cylindrical portion 6 open at one end as at l and closed at its opposite end by an integral cap Wall 8, the latter having an intake opening 9, the walls of which are undercut at iii to accommodate a correspondingly formed flange ll of a cylindrical valve seat I2. The said cap wall 8 is formed with a short cylindrical extension it which threadedly accommodates one end of a water supply pipe 54, the latter adapted to form a part of any conventional plumbing system by means of which water at a normal city pressure can be conducted to the filling tank of a flushing system, which said filling tank may be of any suitable well known construction. Interposed between the flange H of the valve seat I2 and the adjacent end of the intake pipe M is a sealing gasket l5.

5 The construction of the cylindrical portion of the chamber member is such that same is formed with a straight bore t6, the same being preferably of equal diameter throughout. This bore extends from the open end I of the cham- 55 her member to the closed cap end 8 thereof. It

is concentric with respect to the valve seat. The diameter of said bore is also appreciably greater than the external diameter of the valve seat. It will also be noted that the valve seat extends into the bore and that same has an annular relatively sharp edge i1 positioned at one side of the inner flat face l8 of the cap end 8 of said chamber member. The purpose of thesecharacterizing features of the parts just referred to will obviously appear as the description proceeds. 0

Driven tightly into the bore l 6 of the aforementioned chamber member is a metallic thimble or valve guide. 59, the same being of cylindrical construction and provided with a portion whose external diameter is sufl'iciently greater 15 than the portion 2! of said thimble, so that the walls of said portion 2i are spaced apart externally from adjacent walls of the bore 56, whereby to produce therewith an intervening annular space 22 which communicates at one 20 of its ends with the main portion 23 of an outlet chamber. Virtually, the said annular space and the said main portion 23 of the chamber mutually define a chamber which is exteriorly positioned relative to the thimble or valve guide 25 i9, and as illustrated the chamber member is provided with an outlet 2 which opens into the aforementioned portion 23. Said outlet has threaded connection with a discharge pipe 25, by means of which water is adapted to be admitted to a filling tank. The portion 23 is located approximately at a point medially of the respective ends of the said chamber member and, as illustrated, the free edge of the portion 2! of the thimble 19 comes in resting contact with the Wall 93 of the said cap portion 8, and at this point the said portion 2! is formed with any suitable number of orifices 26.

Extending from the chamber member 5 is a post 27 to which one end of a tilting lever 28 is pivoted. This lever passes through an aperture 29 in the reduced stem portion 39 of a cylindrical plunger-like valve 3|. The lever then passes through a guide 32 which extends from the chamber member 5 and its opposite extremity finds pivotal connection at 33 with a link 34; This link has pivotal connection at 35 to the short arm 36 of a rocker arm 31. The arm 3! is pivoted at 38 to rock from the upper extremity of the guide 32 and at 39 said rocker has connection with a float arm ill. The float arm may be of any suitable well known construction capable of supporting at a free extremity a float of such form that it will rise and fall in the filling tank during the ordinary operations of such flushing systems as those herein referred to.

The plunger-like valve 3| may be constructed of any suitable well known metal, such as brass, and the length thereof is approximately the same as that of the bore 6. The diameter of the plunger is so calculated with respect to the internal diameter of the thimble 19 that a comparatively snug fit of the plunger is had with the internal walls of said thimble. At a point between its ends, the said plunger is provided with an annular gasket 4| which is presented constantly against the internal walls of the thimble so as to prevent leakage through the space between the thimble and the plunger. The end of the plunger which is positioned in the thimble and which is intended to co-act with the valve seat I2 is channeled out or suitably cored so as to accommodate an elastic valve disk 42, the diameter of which is greater than the external diameter of said valve seat. The fiat face 43 of the valve disk is adapted to engage against the relatively sharp edge I! of said valve seat when the plunger 3| is in its closed position.

From the construction described, it is now stated that the position of the plunger 3| as shown in Figure 1 is indicative of the full lowered position of the float arm 40, such as when the filling tank has been entirely emptied. In other words, the position of the plunger as shown in Figure 1 illustrates the limit of its movement in a direction away from the portion ll of the co-acting valve seat. It consequently follows that water discharging into the member 5 through the bore of the valve seat has its fiow intercepted by the fiat face 43 of the valve disk 42, the latter preferably formed of rubber, and that the water is compelled to be deflected and to be urged in the direction of the fiat face l8 of the cap end 8 of the member 5, at which time it finds ingress to the annular space 22 between the external surface of the portion 2| and the adjacent walls of the bore IS, the water taking this course by virtue of the orifices 26. The water is thus first discharged into the structure in a direction which is longitudinal of the thimble 9 and the flow is then somewhat restricted and made to take a lateral course before it can proceed into the outlet pipe 25. By compelling the water to take this sinuous course and by reducing the velocity at the fiat face 43 of the valve disk 42, it is possible to provide an organization which is almost, if not entirely, noiseless in action. It is found also that a relatively large space can be formed between the external Walls of the portion 2| and the adjacent walls of the bore 6, so as to not unduly retard the movement of the water in its path to the filling tank and at the same time produce a device which is almost entirely noiseless.

It follows from the construction herein set forth that some liquid is always retained in the member 5 following each successive flushing 5 operation. The space between the bottom face 43 of the disk 42 and the face l8 of the cap end 8 of said member 5 will remain filled with liquid at all times and the annular space between the walls of the constricted end 2| of the thimble I9 10 and the adjacent walls of the bore IE will always be filled with liquid. This is because of the fact that the upper end of the valve seat l2 occupies a position slightly above the upper ends of the orifices 26. In this manner, a small head of liquid is held sealed in the structure, only to be evacuated therefrom during the flushing operation, but then to be replaced by a new body of liquid as the flushing operation discontinues and the plunger 3| returns to its closed position. An automatic trapping of liquid within the structure is thus made possible and it is thereby possible to cushion the movement of the plunger and to avoid the objectionable hissing efiect ordinarily due to an inrush of air over the lane of travel of the liquid as the liquid proceeds to the outlet when the valve seat is uncovered.

The length of the plunger relative to that of the thimble in which it slides may be precalculated; the extent of projection of the valve seat relative to the orifices 26 may likewise be precalculated; and the size of the annular flow space between the thimble and the aforementioned adjacent walls of the bore l6 proportioned, so

that in consideration of these several factors the rate of flow of the liquid may be made to determine the speed with which the filling tank is supplied with liquid.

What is claimed is:

A valve organization comprising a member ber to provide a liquid space extending from the lower end of the chamber to said outlet, and having orifices opening toward said seat; the seat extending in a vertical direction into the chamber and spaced apart from the orifices and coacting with the liquid space to provide a liquid well in said space and around said seat.

WILLIAM A. PFISTER. EMIL PRICE. 

